St. John Studies

It may seem like I am veering off the path today but I want to write on the role of the teacher in one’s life. Of course, when Billy Graham uses the term teacher, he is referring to an individual with the spiritual gift of instructing others in Bible knowledge and knowledge about a life in Christ. This calling is important because Christians need help in their growth as they try to apply God’s word into their thinking and conduct.

But I want to get personal; many know that I am an adult Sunday school teacher, a job I do not take lightly, a job that instructs me so much as I prepare to instruct others.
I love teaching adults but it is more than that: I love teaching.

As I reflect back on my life, I can see that I was destined to teach because I loved and respected teachers from the first days I went to school.

Certain memories stand out in my life. I know it sounds very “nerdy” but I used to get excited about going to school, using books, using paper and pencils and pens. I loved the excitement of learning new things and looked forward to being in the classroom. My father was a teacher, his sister was a teacher, my cousin was a teacher, my wife was a teacher…indeed all my life I have been surrounded by teachers.

When in seventh grade, I had a teacher who was a master of the English language. Mrs. Anna Belle Sherer made all her students “diagram sentences” and I learned to love the English sentence. I got great joy out of seeing patterns in language and solving the mystery of finding the subject and the verb and mapping out the other elements of sentence structure. Her diagramming gave me a sense of power over words.

In college, I had two teachers who impacted my life so much, special teachers. Mr. Ben Jones was an intro to literature teacher who made me ponder the meaning of literature, digging deeper into the meaning of the words. He helped me understand the literary elements of theme, plot, symbolism, characterization. He even inspired me to try to write my own stories. When I dropped out of college and considered never going back, he took the time to write me a personal letter. That important piece of writing got me back to college and on track to finish my degree. He knew I belonged there and when he took the time to write to me, I knew I needed to complete what I started. His words were powerful.

Dr. William McMahon was a man who had “rough edges.” To use an expression, he would “suffer no fools” in his classroom. He taught advanced composition, a class open only to English majors. His reading assignments were so hard that I had headaches trying to understand the material. He loved making us analyze philosophers from many cultures. We read the Greeks, far eastern philosophers and contemporary German philosophers. Reading the material was hard enough but commenting on it was intimidating to say the least. I got a B out of Dr. McMahon’s class but it was so hard that a C would have been acceptable. To this day, I know what sentence style means, manipulation of the balanced sentence, the loose sentence and the periodic sentence and what that can mean for one’s writing. He had an English punctuation system that made perfect sense to me and informed me on how to use punctuation not only for correctness but also for effect.

I began school in 1957. Folks that is a long time ago. I loved school so much that I completed several degrees in English and speech communication. I was told by my darling wife that I loved school too much and after my terminal speech communication degree, she said “any more school and I divorce you.”

I understood.

I had to be an independent learner from 1991 on and at that time in my life I was really far from being a Christian with a personal relationship with Christ. I was afloat with little direction in my life until 1998 when in the midst of one of the greatest crises in my life, I found Jesus Christ.

I have had many great teachers in my life. I can go back in my mind to 1964 and see the diminutive Mrs. Sherer in front of the classroom, explaining participles, gerunds, infinitives. I can see Ben Jones encouraging his students to open their minds to literature that seemed so closed. We began to see it, understand it and love it. I have Dr. McMahon in my mind, standing in front of his sparse classroom, intimidating us all with his weighty discussions, demanding that we produce good work. Pulling us all up to a higher level, going higher than we ever imagined we could go.

Could those types of people teach the Bible? Could those types of people be Sunday school teachers? Could they be seminary professors?

Of course they could. They weren’t my Bible teachers but they were excellent teachers, inspiring teachers.

What those teachers did for me was light the fire of curiosity that still burns within me. I have been inspired by Bible teachers since 1998. I wanted to know as much about God as I could learn and I still want to know Him more. Some of my instructors have been in the Sunday school classroom, some in Bible studies but some have been my teachers one-to-one. Some people’s lives have been instructional, as I have watched them deal with issues that would cause ordinary people to crumble, but they walked through the fire with humility, grace and loving understanding.

I am humbled to be a teacher. I take my role seriously. As a Christian, I need help in my growth as I try to apply God’s word into my thinking and conduct. I do this through learning and I do this through teaching.

My aunt, who was a school psychologist and a rector in the Episcopal Church, graced my life with many pieces of writing. One of the clippings she gave me was a “Graduate’s Prayer.” The last two lines of the prayer are addressed directly to God and they fit so well into this post. I have to end on them: “And may I ever be aware in everything I do / That knowledge comes from learning / And wisdom comes from You.”

New pastor…

First day in front of a new congregation…

I remember her message because she used a visual aid. It was a little different. No colorful PowerPoint. No poster board. No eye-catching prop. She just left the pulpit and walked among the congregation handing out jig-saw puzzle pieces.

Every person in the congregation got a puzzle piece that day and that fit her message. We all need to do our part to make a church work and everyone is like a puzzle piece. When things work well, all the pieces fit together to make a wonderful picture.

Billy Graham* lists pastoring as a spiritual gift. He calls pastors “good shepherds” designating that title for the ordained clergy in the local church. Technically pastors may be assistant shepherds, since Jesus is referred to in John 10:11 as “the Good Shepherd” and in Hebrews 13: 20 as “the great Shepherd of the sheep.” Pastors have the gifts of “counseling, guiding, warning and guarding the flock” [Graham, 185].

Pastors do so much. I have so much respect for them that I rankle when I hear someone say that “preaching” is a cushy job. All pastors do is work on Sunday.

The fact of the matter is that responsive, effective pastors have such difficult jobs. They never know what is going to happen any day or any hour of the week. Like the rest of us, they may plan to be somewhere or they may plan to do something but often plans are shelved for the needs of their congregants. While pastors are the leaders of a church, they have many other duties aside from giving sermons.

Spiritual leadership to the members of a church is not a job that one should take lightly. Duties include preparing weekly sermons, preaching and conducting worship services. It’s the pastor’s responsibility to interpret Biblical Scripture for the congregation, sometimes in front of the congregation, sometimes in small groups and sometimes on a one-to-one basis. In addition, providing care and counseling to church members is important because people need assistance in crisis situations. Pastors are called to officiate at special services, such as confirmations, baptisms, weddings and funerals. I had a friend whose dad was a pastor and he could not recall a vacation that was not cut short by a quick return home for a church member’s funeral. Effective pastors add to their list of duties hospital visits for the sick or in-home visits for those unable to attend worship. Pastors collaborate with choir leaders to integrate music into church services. One can easily see that regular job hours are impossible. Additional job responsibilities include assisting in church financial matters, overseeing management of all areas of the congregation’s ministry, supporting, overseeing and evaluating staff, holding regular staff meetings to coordinate ministries and even ensuring church facilities are functioning.  The list goes on and on…

Back to those puzzle pieces…

Anyone can see that the job of the pastor is almost impossible. If a person has the spiritual gift of pastoring, it indeed is a gift from God, because there is too much to do and only one person to do it.

Another thing that irritates me is the church member who sees something that needs to be done and won’t even attempt to work on it. They just throw the concern to the pastor with the attitude “that’s why we pay them the big bucks!”

I am not sure we can ever pay an effective pastor what they deserve.

Graham says it best when he says pastors need help from congregations. The pastor may be ordained but others in the church may have pastoral gifts of some use. Youth directors, Sunday school teachers, Bible study teachers, ministry leaders, choir directors can all have pastoral gifts that can not only fit well within the church but can also “assist” the pastor in carrying out the mission of the church. “I believe that thousands of Christians through the world who will never become pastors of churches do have the gift of the pastor that can be used to assist the clergy in their work….Many pastors of churches are overworked and could use a little help” [Graham, 186].

Gifts of the Holy Spirit are real and pastoring a church is one of those gifts, but most in the church don’t think they can be a pastor. Well partially they are right, if the sole criteria is a seminary degree, but can a member of a church help clergy within the church? Yes they can and if they have gifts of pastoring and refuse to use them, Graham says “failure to do so is to grieve the Holy Spirit.”

Those puzzle pieces…do you think my pastor intended for us to think that our role in the church is to come to a one hour worship service one day per week? Many people do have that thought; they tell themselves I have attended church this Sunday and I have done my “God work” for a week.

Or did she mean that we should take our spiritual gifts and use them for the church, for the Glory of God? I think she was asking for our help.

Be that puzzle piece, use your gifts and make the church better because you chose to do more than attend for one hour. If you have the spiritual gift of pastoring, don’t hold back. God will put you in situations where you can be used. He will help you use your gift and guess what?

Your pastor will probably appreciate your work

*from Billy Graham  The Holy Spirit

“Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age” [Matthew 28: 19,20].

Who was Jesus referring to? This statement is a command with what is called an understood “you”. When someone says go, they are really saying “you go.” Who is the you? Is He addressing the eleven disciples? Some think so.

Some may think He is addressing evangelists, like Billy Graham, people who can take the message of His death, burial and resurrection to many people who have a hunger for The Word, people who can spread the message of salvation to large numbers of seekers.

Others think He is addressing everyone in the Christian community. If He is addressing the Christian community, guess what?

He is speaking to you and He is speaking to me.

Billy Graham would agree. He writes “Evangelism is not limited to professional evangelists, those whose lives are wholly spent in this calling. The gift of evangelism is also given to lay people….every Christian who is not called to the vocation of evangelism is still called to do the work of an evangelist” [Graham*, 183].

Wow, this is a daunting task, a task that many Christians may shrink from. Many of us fear talking to others about God but if we take literally the statement Jesus made in Mark 1:17 “Follow Me, and I will make you become fishers of men,” we are supposed to be fishers of men.  The truthful question we have is “am I bold enough to lead someone to Christ? Can I be a fisher of men?”

Years ago, I got a little book entitled Sharing Your Faith. I actually used it as a reference for some teaching I did in an adult Sunday school class. It is simple and encouraging, just what most of us need if we are charged with doing “the work of the evangelist.”

First of all, the authors** think that most of the work of evangelism is done one-on-one, with the Christian talking personally to someone else. They refer to this as “sharing a gift.” Think about all the gifts that you get in a lifetime. Some people get some pretty awesome gifts but no gift compares to the single greatest gift in the world, given to you by the God of the universe—the gift of salvation.

Now let’s be honest. I need salvation. I am a sinner, but I believe God and He has given me that gift.

Bickel and Jantz write that salvation is not a secret. Most gifts after they are given are not secrets. Gifts have benefits and salvation surely has its benefits. A gift suggests a personal connection between giver and receiver and when you accept your gift, the connection with God is established. Here is the kicker; when you receive a gift, you naturally want to share it with others.

When I share my faith with someone, it is nothing more than telling someone else the story of what God has done for me. That’s it.

People make this so complicated. We worry about what people will say or do. We think they may reject us or even ridicule us. Some think sharing will offend others.
Christians also think they have to convince, convict and convert a seeker but that is not the case. That work is not done by us. That is done for us by The Holy Spirit. Graham says the work on the mind, heart and will of the seeker is beyond our ability. Bickel and Jantz are even more clear: “you can relax, because God doesn’t expect us to do any of that. We couldn’t convince, convict, and convert anyone, even if we tried. Only God can do these things” [ 21].

Our sharing does need to be backed up with a Spirit-filled, fruit-producing life. Without that our sharing can be a waste of time. Messages about salvation are not believed if your behavior does not jive with your message [ie.talking the talk and walking the walk]. Like our sharing, God will provide what we need to live that life with the Holy Spirit’s guidance. He provides the strength to live a life producing fruit, just like He provides the words you will say to the seeker at the moment of sharing.

Graham comments on this important work: “I urge all Christians do the work of an evangelist—wither they go into full-time evangelism or not! I believe we have no option. It is a command from our Lord Jesus Christ” [184].

“Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations”…

He is referring to you and He is referring to me…

*from The Holy Spirit
**Bruce Bickel and Stan Jantz

The spiritual gift of evangelism.

I would imagine that one of the world’s greatest evangelists would have a hard time being humble discussing the spiritual gift that he had. The Reverend Billy Graham had the spiritual gift of evangelism to an extreme. As of 2008, Graham’s estimated lifetime audience, including radio and television broadcasts, topped 2.2 billion. One special televised broadcast in 1996 alone may have reached a television audience of as many as 2.5 billion people worldwide. Because of his crusades, Graham preached the gospel to more people in person than anyone in the history of Christianity.*

Yet in his book The Holy Spirit, he barely mentions his own personal gift from God, preferring to discuss evangelism in general. First of all, he says he did not “save” anyone; that is the work of the Holy Spirit. Secondly, he says his work did not convict sinners, build righteousness in believers or judge listeners in his audiences; that also is the Spirit’s work. He writes “the evangelist can invite men to receive Christ, and exhort them. But the effectual work is done by the Spirit as He works on the mind, hearts and wills of the unsaved. We are to take care of the possible and trust God for the impossible.”

The word evangelist comes from the Greek word meaning “one who announces good news” and Graham surely did that. He says that the term evangelist is only used three times in the New Testament, once when Luke called Philip an evangelist, once when Paul said that God gave evangelists to the church and once when Paul urged Timothy to do the work of an evangelist.** But the term certainly applies to him.

An evangelist’s message almost necessarily concerns the content of God’s word. He is a deliverer of a message, rather than a pastor who often teaches spiritual lessons and provides spiritual leadership to members of a church. A pastor’s duties include preparing weekly sermons, preaching and conducting worship services and interpreting Biblical Scripture for the congregation. In contrast, the evangelist centers his comments on “the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ, His coming again and the need for all men everywhere to repent and believe” [Graham, 181]. The evangelist has a short-term relationship with his audience. Of course, the pastor does not.

The evangelist may speak to the mind and may speak to the heart. Getting a group of people to think and feel are important factors in any presentation. The Greek philosopher Aristotle [who lived three hundred fifty years before Christ], taught speakers that logos [thinking] and pathos [feeling] were essential elements in getting a person to change. Indeed the most effective evangelists do both, hoping the Holy Spirit will guide the listener to make a change and dedicate their life to Christ. With this is mind, Graham says the real work of the evangelist is to “speak to the will” of man [181].

The work of the evangelist is often unappreciated. Graham cites John Wesley, the so-called “founder” of Methodism. Wesley traveled all over England trying to deliver an evangelistic message of reform for the Anglican Church, yet he was rejected by his church, despite the fact that he was an Anglican priest. Nevertheless he dedicated his life to spreading the Word. One of his biographers, Stephen Tomkins writes that “[Wesley] rode 250,000 miles, gave away 30,000 pounds … and preached more than 40,000 sermons…” For any reader who has no knowledge of Wesley, he lived in the 18th century and almost all of his travel was on horseback and to preach that many sermons in a lifetime he had to preach two or three times each day. Indeed, he did that throughout his life, never achieving positive recognition from his own church.  That is the definition of “unappreciated”.

Graham says that any popular evangelist is a special target of Satan; the higher the visibility, the easier the target. Some who have evangelistic gifts refuse to use those gifts due to negative labels that can be attached to their work. Many think of the evangelist as “nonintellectual,” someone who only preys on peoples’ emotions. It is common knowledge that some [but not all] evangelists have grown their ministry to the point that it becomes very commercial.  Many hold that up to negative judgement.   Too many evangelists can be too concerned with their statistics. [Graham recounts a story of a local paper that misreported the numbers of one of his crusades; claiming one thousand people were saved and Graham knew the number was less than five hundred]. His crusades desired honesty and accuracy and too many news organizations used improper terminology and exaggerated numbers. They felt they had to keep accurate statistics and report accurate statistics.  Graham was never obsessed with statistics, even though others were.

Graham’s power as a Christian evangelist is the stuff of legends. He literally preached to thousands and his largest crowd was in 1973 in Seoul, South Korea. It boggles the mind to realize this man preached to 3.2 million people in this crusade.

I head a story one time that amazed me about Graham and I have seen it borne out in the lives of other talented Christians. Graham knew he was capable of using his gift and he made the commitment to do so, but he also knew he was capable of the great human problem of pride. As he started to have larger and larger crowds and his influence began to grow, he deflected the praise he received. “It is not me; it is God” is something I have heard from the most devout Christians I have encountered. These people all know that their gifts are directly from The Lord and they humbly acknowledge that, giving God the glory. The story is that Graham had that attitude and even hired a man to sit beside him at his crusades. After Graham returned to his seat after delivering his sermon, the man told him this:

“It is not you; it is God!”

The Reverend Billy Graham, a man who had the spiritual gift of evangelism.

*Wikipedia “Billy Graham”
**Acts 21:8 , Ephesians 4:11 and 2 Timothy 4:5 respectively

Public expounder…

Sounds rather dramatic doesn’t it? I envision a pastor in front of a church speaking prophetic words over individual people in the congregation. I have experienced modern day prophets doing just that.

Do all Christians believe this is possible?

Some don’t. I have to be honest. Billy Graham himself writes “the gift of prophecy in the first sense, that of foretelling or predictive prophecy, no longer exists to the extent it did in first century Christianity.” He goes further: “God no longer directly reveals ‘new truth’; there is now a back cover to the Bible. The canon of Scripture is closed.”
Even though I comment on Graham’s book I would be remiss if I did not present a balanced view of modern prophecy. Many do believe that God gives people messages to deliver to other people. God does reveal truth to someone in a supernatural way and that enables that person to deliver that message to others. Whether it is a “word from the Lord” or a supposed prophecy, our response should be the same. Compare what is said to what the Word of God says. If it contradicts the Bible, throw it out. If it agrees with the Bible, pray for wisdom and discernment as to how to apply the message. That is good advice for Christians who believe that prophecy is alive and well today.

But for others who wonder if prophecy exists, is there another sense of the word prophet that is relevant for today’s world?

Graham says there is.

The prophetic office he speaks of is edification, instruction, consolation and exhortation, all gifts of pastors in local congregations. The role of the prophet can now be exercised by ministers who preach God’s word for the edification of their congregations.

Let’s be clear, many in congregations who declare they are Christians are not students of God’s word. Literally the only Bible they hear is what is read by the pastor in Sunday worship service. The Bible can be a daunting book, filled with difficult words, challenging images and unclear concepts. People have a hard time diving right into the Bible and getting any valuable message from it, especially if they are not regular students, with effective study aids and a habitual desire for God’s truth. Most Christians need someone with a deep understanding to explain the word of God to them.

And here is where Billy Graham opens the door to the supernatural gift of modern-day prophecy. The Holy Spirit can “illumine” the minds of those called to explain the Word of God, giving them a gift that is impossible for ordinary church members to have. Graham says that the illumination is not new doctrine but God does give new directions. “I am willing to grant that possibility, with the understanding that it does not involve new revelation but something the Holy Spirit would do that would be dynamically related to the written Word of God” [Graham, 178].

He reports listening to a tape of a pastor who was reputed to have prophetic words. His followers admitted he had charisma, but they also reported his ability to explain Biblical truth in an extremely clear way. Upon listening to the tape, Graham writes “I found that almost everything he said was biblically based….He gave biblical truth in a dramatic way, applying it to our world.”

Not everyone has the level of Bible knowledge of a Billy Graham. They don’t have the gift of discernment, which is necessary for ascertaining truth from falsehood.

Here is where we as Christians have a challenge. “Every Christian should be rooted in the Bible, and he should know what the Bible teaches.” Granted, some Christians like Graham may have the gift of discernment in greater measure but most of us don’t. The only way to develop any discernment about prophetic exhortation is to open our Bibles on a regular basis, purchase some highly respected study aids and develop a habitual hunger for God’s Truth as written in His Word.

With this in place, we can really benefit from the prophetic words of our ministers. They can only deepen our understanding if they have the prophetic gift of edification, instruction, consolation and exhortation. We know what they say is in line with the Bible, because we have some knowledge of our Bibles.

Their words are growing our faith and we are actively trying to grow it ourselves.

Getting help and helping ourselves.

Two good things, I am thinking.

“Your word is full of fulfilled prophecy. You told things before they happened so that when they did, people would believe” [John 14: 29].

After discussing the gift of apostleship in the previous post, let’s look at other spiritual gifts listed in Ephesians 4 by the Apostle Paul.

One such gift is the gift of prophecy.

Like apostleship, the gift of prophecy is open to debate in today’s church, some believing that the gift exists; others thinking that evidence of prophecy is probably rare. Billy Graham says he is aware of “rare instances” in which Christians believe they have been given foreknowledge about future events. For example, he cites an 18th century missionary who prophesied that a ship loaded with food would arrive and it did just before people in a settlement were about to die from starvation. Many feel that was true prophecy.

He does not say “no” to prophecy today. He just says that examples of contemporary prophecy are “not ordinary and frequent.”

The word “prophecy” comes from the Greek word meaning “public expounder.” He explains that in apostolic times the gift of prophecy had two parts. In this post, I will concentrate on the first of two meanings of the word prophet.

In apostolic times [meaning between 30 AD and 100 AD, the ministry of Jesus and His immediate followers] prophecy meant “one concerned [with] the communication of words from God to men, through the prophet.” Note how Graham comments on this prophetic gift. “The gift of prophecy in the first sense, that of foretelling or predictive prophecy, no longer exists to the extent it did in first century Christianity.” I would ask you to concentrate your attention on the phrase “to the extent.” He is not saying that the gift does not exist, but it does not exist as much as it did in the past.

I would be remiss if I did not explain that the gift of “public expounder” had an accompanying gift that is given to the receivers of the “expounding.” God gives the gift of discernment to the receivers of the prophecy. Why is that important you might ask? The reason for the need for discernment arises from the existence of false prophets. Jesus warned us that “false Christs and false prophets” will come and will attempt to deceive even God’s elect (Matthew 24:23-27; see also 2 Peter 3:3 and Jude 17-18). The best way to guard yourself against falsehood and false teachers is to know the truth. To spot a counterfeit, study the real thing [the Bible]. Any believer who “correctly handles the word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15) and who makes a careful study of the Bible can identify false doctrine. Graham states “The very fact that a prophet spoke by revelation virtually assured the existence of false prophets, too, as we note from both Old and New Testaments.” New Testament Christians were told not to despise prophecy but were told to test all things.

Scripture plainly teaches that discernment is a gift that will be useful as we approach the end of the age [the final days when Christ comes and we see the commencement of the next dispensation. It is the period that precedes the second coming of the Son of Man as the Righteous Judge]. At that time, many false prophets will appear, many of them will be “wolves in sheep’s clothing.” Their purpose is to fool God’s own people. The Apostle Paul was concerned about the Corinthians because they seemed to have little discernment, welcoming anyone as the prophet of Christ. He writes “For if someone comes to you and preaches a Jesus other than the Jesus we preached, or if you receive a different spirit from the one you received, or a different gospel from the one you accepted, you put up with it easily enough . . . such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, masquerading as apostles of Christ” [2 Corinthians 11:4, 13].

It goes without saying that it would be best if every Christian were discerning, but that is probably expecting too much. Graham says “every Christian should be rooted in the Bible, and he should know what the Bible teaches” [180]. Sadly, many Christians today own a Bible but they rarely open it, much less study it.

Graham closes his comments on prophecy this way: “The requirement (or test) of the true prophet (the foreteller) in the Scriptures was that he be 100 percent accurate. Not 50 percent. Not 75 percent. Not even 99 percent. But 100 percent accurate.

High standards indeed, but maybe appropriate for a spiritual gift that can influence so many Christian believers.

“One of those days Jesus went out to a mountainside to pray, and spent the night praying to God. When morning came He called his disciples to Him and chose twelve of them, whom he also designated apostles.” [Luke 6: 12-13]

“Paul, an apostle—sent not from men nor by man, but by Jesus Christ and God the Father.” [Galatians 1:1]

The twelve men that Jesus picked out did indeed have special gifts. Often we refer to them as the twelve Disciples. But were they also apostles? Paul is referred to as an apostle but is he a Disciple?

Here is the short answer: an apostle is a Christian who is sent to deliver or spread teachings to others. That is that person’s spiritual gift. However, the word “apostle” has two meanings, the larger meaning of being a messenger for Christ and the narrow meaning to denote the twelve people directly linked to Jesus Christ. We can say that all of the twelve Apostles were Disciples but not all apostles are disciples. The “office” of apostle was held by each of the twelve disciples.

Billy Graham cites theologian John R.W. Stott to try to clear this up. He says that the word apostle is used three ways in the New Testament. Christians are sent into the world by Jesus Christ. What all Christians should have in common with others is the “apostolic mission” of the church; we are all supposed to be sent into the world as Christ’s messengers. In John 17: 18 and John 20: 21, Jesus says he is sending us into the world as His Father sent Him into the world. Twice in the New Testament the word apostle is used to refer to messengers who were sent on particular errands from one church to another [2 Corinthians 8:23 and Philippians 2: 25]. Of course the third way the word apostle is used is in reference to the twelve men who were eyewitnesses to the ministry of Jesus. There have been no more special people like those twelve; they held a unique position. These twelve apostles were the first messengers of the gospel after the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. It was these twelve apostles who were the foundation of the church—with Jesus being the cornerstone.

What exactly would be the role of an apostle outside that of the original twelve apostles? That is not entirely clear. From the definition of the word, the closest thing today to an apostle, in the general sense, is a missionary. A missionary is a follower of Christ who is sent out with the specific mission of proclaiming the Gospel. A missionary is an ambassador of Christ to people who have not heard the good news. Often missionaries fulfill their gift in foreign lands.

Some Christians have that spiritual gift today; certainly not all Christians have it.
Graham says another version of apostle today can be the Christian who has the ability to plant churches. These churches may not necessarily be in foreign lands and some would argue that a missionary can be a church planter. People who can plant churches have a message that they are sharing with others, are responsible for establishing a church and have the ability to exercise authority in setting policies and enforcing them [Graham, 176]. In the town where I live, there are small churches that are beginning in a storefront building. Church plants can even begin in someone’s private home.

Whether a person is a missionary or a church planter, this spiritual gift of course is special. When someone has the ability to bridge cultural divides to share the Gospel or to establish churches in challenging environments, this type of person has the gift of developing others for Christ. They are leaders who can not only lead their church but they can also recruit lead pastors and shepherds to run the church.

In my study of persuasive speaking, they are what I would call “influencers” or “opinion leaders.” They can be entrepreneurial in their approach to ministry and they know how to take risks and perform difficult tasks.

It boggles my mind to think that a Christian would have enough motivation to do this type of work. I have never felt drawn to missionary work; I have never felt the need to start a new church. Billy Graham was an evangelist but he did not have the spiritual gift of the missionary or church planter. He did have a close friend who spent his whole life working in the Caribbean going from one community to another to establish churches. He reported that in his friend’s lifetime, he established fifty.

Graham says “There are hundred, and perhaps thousands of men and women of God throughout the world today who are doing just that.” They have the gift of taking Christ’s message to the lost. They have the ability to start a church in a storefront building.
We can say that all of the twelve Apostles were Disciples but not all apostles are like the Disciples. Each of the twelve Apostles was a man who saw Jesus while He was here on this earth. Therefore, if this is your strict definition, is not possible for a person to be an apostle today. However, Graham thinks that apostleship is a spiritual gift and it is possible for a person to have this gift today. It is clear that he has great respect for this work.

Even though I can’t do this type of work, I hope it is clear to you that I too have a great deal of respect for people who do this work.

Not just the office of apostleship; not just the work of apostleship, but the spiritual gift of apostleship …

“God has given each of us a task to do and supernatural gifts to do it.” Billy Graham from his book The Holy Spirit…

I had a conversation the other day with a recently retired person who told me she had volunteered in several capacities but she had not found her “place” yet. She recounted her experience at a local mission center where she was given a job to do that may not have tapped her skills. She was told to hand out bags of food on distribution day. She did her assigned task but said, “My heart was just not in it. I wonder if there is somewhere else where I am needed.” Is she searching for her spiritual gift? Is there such a thing as a search for your spiritual gift? How will you know if you have a gift and you are doing your “spirit” work for The Lord?

That conversation and the associated questions are addressed in Graham’s chapter on gifts of the Spirit.

First of all, God has given each committed Christian believer at least one gift and He wants us to use it for His Glory. The person above is possibly in a search for hers. I know her and I know her work-life skill set; it may not be handing out bags of food. Paul wrote to young Timothy and said “kindle afresh the gift of God which is in you.” Before we go further, sometimes we are called to serve others who are in a humble sphere of life. Not everyone is called to service in some prominent position so humble work is fine. God may call us to do humble acts of service, but maybe this person was right…her spiritual gift was not being utilized in this location.

One key thing she told me made me wonder if she had found her “place”; the expression “my heart was just not in it.” Graham says that when someone finds their spiritual gift, there is a degree of ease in the performance of their work. There is a feeling that the “fit” of the person in the situation is right; they feel it in their heart.

Discovering your spiritual gift is a matter of thoughtful prayer on your part. We should pray for God to guide us to where we can best serve. If we are willing, we will find work that fits us; God will reveal it. God will provide it. God will situate us where we can be used the best. Some people are not prone to be led by God. They want to force themselves into a situation or they want to “demand” God to reveal their gift so they can get to work. It does not work that way. Prayer, patience and following God’s lead is the way this usually happens. Where you end up serving may be a surprise, but that is where God wants you to be.

Some Christians are afraid to let God lead them to their spiritual gift. Maybe they will find themselves in a situation where God is asking a lot of them and they are hesitant to commit. I once was told by a Christian that they were afraid that God would lead them to be a missionary and they were scared to death to perform that kind of work.

Prayer and an intelligent understanding of what the Bible says about spiritual gifts is the best guide. Graham writes that his book is “no substitute for first-hand study of the Bible’s teaching on the gifts of the Spirit….If we find we are reluctant to know God’s gifts because we are afraid of what He might call us to do with them, this needs to be faced and confessed before God.”

Graham says everyone knows what they are good at. We all have personal experiences which would lead us to do one job or another. We may find we like to do certain things and God may reveal to us that we are really good at doing them in situations where the skills are needed, the service is valued and He will get the glory. The person I opened with is continuing her search for her “place.” Graham says it is good to try a variety of situations in various ministries until we find our place. Other people can help us as they reveal what they think about our talents; maybe we don’t have an accurate picture of what we can do.

As times goes on, the process of discovering our spiritual gift[s] may be a lengthy one and as we live our lives, we may find gifts emerging as we find new opportunities to serve The Lord. Don’t be discouraged; God wants to use you for His Glory. He wants you to share your gifts and abilities with others but as Graham says “we will never be used by Him in the fullest way until we know our gifts and we have committed them to Him.”

This is a level of life that sounds so fulfilling. Beth Moore speaks of this commitment in her book Praying God’s Word: “The giant step in the walk of faith is the one we take when we decide God no longer is a part of our lives. He is our life.”

To my friend, be patient, pray, read the Bible about gifts of the Spirit, be open to God’s direction.

He will show you where to go. He will provide what you need. He will allow you to use your spirit gift to serve others…

And to glorify Him…

As I have discussed spiritual gifts and I have listed them as they are in the New Testament [Romans 12:6–8; 1 Corinthians 12:8–10; 1 Corinthians 12:28; Ephesians 4:11; 1 Peter 4:11] I can easily see there are 31 but several gifts mentioned in these scriptures do overlap. Scripture says that Christians are given gifts by God and every Christian has at least one gift. Some may have more than one.

There are specific things about spiritual gifts that we should all know.

Why are we given spiritual gifts?

Ephesians 4:12 says “for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ.” There are key words in this quote that tip us off about why we are given spiritual gifts. Those key words are “work of service” and “building up the body of Christ.” Work of service means that gifts are given to help others; they are not to be used selfishly. In 1 Corinthians 12:7 Paul says the gifts are given for the “common good” which means they are for the benefit of others. Paul further comments in Philippians 2: 3, 4 that we should do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind let each of you regard one another as more important than himself; do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others.”

The phrase “building up the body” gives us additional insight about why we are given spiritual gifts. The spiritual gift[s] we are given are intended to work with other gifts that other people have to unite the church [often referred to as “the body of Christ”]. Note Paul’s comments in Ephesians 4: 3-7 when he says that we should be “diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body [one church] and one Spirit, just as also you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all who is over all and through all and in all. But to each one of us grace [a special gift] was given according to the measure of Christ’s gift.” Take note of the frequent use of the unity word “one.” Gifts should never divide the body of Christ; they should unify it.

When we are given gifts, what happens if we don’t use them?

There is a short answer; there will be an accounting. Billy Graham* says that “every believer will someday have to stand before the judgement seat of Christ to give an account of how faithfully he used his gifts, as well as his personal life before God and man” [171]. Before you jump to any conclusions, some may say “but I have been saved!” How can I lose my salvation that I gained from our Christ on the cross! Truly our sins have been atoned for by Christ on the cross, but after salvation, every work must come into judgement and if we have faithfully used God’s gifts, “each one may be recompensed for his deeds in the body, according to what he has done whether good or bad” [2 Corinthians 5: 10]. This judgement which is called “bema” is reserved for Christians alone. It will not be judgement for the unbelieving world. That type of judgement is called the “Great White Throne judgement.” If the Christian can say I have done my best to use my gifts, the compensation [recompense] will be great. If the Christian has not made much of an effort, the compensation will be small.

Besides the core questions concerning why we are given gifts and what happens if we don’t use them, there is a question of credit. Spiritual gifts are never to be used for personal credit. Spiritual gifts are given for the glory of God. Many may struggle with this because many seek praise. Matthew 5:16 addresses this attitude in the words “let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven” [notice it says praise your Father instead of praise you].

We all have wonderful potential that can be developed in our lives, potential for expanding God’s glory in this world. Let me close with these very inspiring words from Pastor Mark Batterson: “Potential is God’s gift to us; what we do with it is our gift back to God.”

From his book The Holy Spirit

The artist who sees beauty and then creates beauty…                                                             The carpenter who can take wood and literally make anything…                                              The mathematician who can work complex problems in his or her head…                             The golfer who can hit a little white ball any direction he or she wants…                           The musician who can take an instrument and make wonderfully pretty sounds…         The gardener who can grow beautiful flowers…

God-given gifts or natural abilities?

In Romans 12: 6-8, 1 Corinthians 12: 8-10 and Ephesians 4:11 the list of gifts from the Holy Spirit is long, about twenty.  Billy Graham* writes that the Old Testament mentions several gifts not even listed in the New Testament. He also says that some of these gifts may be very similar to what some would call natural abilities, not necessarily “spiritual” gifts. He cites Bezalel in Exodus 31, the craftsman who worked in gold, silver and bronze, taking precious stones to set in the metals: “And I have filled him with the Spirit of God in wisdom, in understanding and knowledge.” That wisdom, understanding and knowledge goes along with his God-given artistic ability.

Then Graham says this: “God can take a talent and transform it by the power of the Holy Spirit and use it as a spiritual gift. In fact, the difference between a spiritual gift and a natural talent is frequently a cause for speculation….I am not sure we can always draw a sharp line between spiritual gifts and natural abilities—both of which come ultimately from God.”

What is he saying here?

No matter what your talent or gift, God can use it for His glory. God can take a natural ability and transform it by the power of the Holy Spirit and use it as a spiritual gift.
Let me give you some examples. I know someone who is humble. She never seeks the spotlight and if anyone gives her a compliment, she accepts it and appreciates it but you can tell that it makes little lasting impression on her. Her humility is a cornerstone of her personality but it lays the foundation for her natural talent: she is an excellent listener, a wonderful friend, a counselor of sorts. Many cannot focus on the needs of others but she can, putting her needs aside. This natural ability is a spiritual gift of “giving” of her time and the “helping” others as they need to express themselves. Giving and helping are two spiritual gifts.

I once played a round of golf with a man who did not try to evangelize with his mouth but as the game unfolded, it was pretty obvious that he had a Christian background. It was how he made references to the game, how he behaved as he went about the business of enforcing the rules of golf on himself, how he was clear about his reason for playing golf that day. He was talented [much more so than the rest of us in our group] but he was not prideful or boastful about his ability. One player in our foursome was struggling all through the round that day. He lost so many golf balls that we all began to feel sorry for him. Not only are golf balls expensive, but the loss of a ball means an extra stroke is added to the score and his score was ballooning. At the end of the day, the talented golfer paused and told the man who struggled to wait as he went to his car. He came back with an egg carton and said “Here brother.” I thought the recipient was going to cry; the carton was full of new golf balls. Nothing more was said, but something was indeed communicated.

I turn to James 1: 17 and wonder what the following scripture means: “Every good thing bestowed and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation, or shifting shadow.”

I wonder what James meant when he said “Every good thing.”

Too many Christians look at the list of spiritual gifts bestowed by the Holy Spirit and say not me. Apostle, not me. I could not be a prophet. I can’t teach. I certainly can’t perform miracles. Healing is beyond my power. I don’t think I have ever spoken in tongues. The list becomes negative as we think the talent we have pales in comparison with the list. Too often we look at it and say things like “I guess I fall short.”

No necessarily so…

I think Billy Graham is telling us in his book that God can use any gift that we have as a spiritual gift.

We should not sell ourselves short.

We should also not sell God short; what God has given, He can use.

All we have to do is let Him…

*Billy Graham  The Holy Spirit